Political Parties Seek Review of Public Sector Wages

**FILE** A teacher sits at her desk inside an empty classroom of the Antoine de Saint-Exupery school in Kigali, Rwanda, on Nov. 27, 2006. (JOSE CENDON/AFP/Getty Images)

The salary structure among public servants should be revised in order to bridge the prevailing inequality in earning.

This is the plan being pushed by political parties as they seek to increase salaries of some low-earning civil servants, especially primary and secondary school teachers, The New Times, Rwanda’s leading newspaper, reported Dec. 29.

“We see unfairness in wages among public servants,” said Christine Mukabunani, president of the Social Party Imberakuri. “If you consider the work they [teachers] do and how demanding it is, you realize that there is injustice. The law on [public] wages should be revised.”

Mukabunani and other heads of political parties used the General Assembly of the National Consultative Forum of Political Organizations (NFPO) to advance the proposal to review public sector wages.

The NFPO was held in Kigali on Thursday.

The proposal by political parties to review the salaries of civil servants is the latest in a series of calls to increase teachers’ wages.

The National Union of Teachers in Rwanda (SNER), for instance, suggests that salaries of primary school teachers (beginners) be raised from the current Rwf40,000, or approximately $45, to Rwf150,000, or approximately $171, every month.

They argue that the current wage is not sufficient enough for a teacher’s basic needs.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Yes, I would like to receive emails from Washington Informer Newspaper. Sign me up!

By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Washington Informer Newspaper, 3117 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE, Washington, DC, 20032, http://www.washingtoninformer.com. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact